Buying American Cars What Does It Mean?

7263 messages, Last post on May 27, 2009 at 4:31 AM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying

With parts coming from everywhere, does "Buying American" have much meaning anymore? Is quality and price the bottom line?

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#6594 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [motorcity6] by dieselone Nov 25, 2008 (9:39 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Nov 25, 2008 9:15 am) SVT Focus, on it's third of tires w/only 36k miles..all Jap directional tires which have a life span of zip... I bought a new SVT Contour in '98 and it would eat through Goodyear Eagle GSCs every 20k with 90% hwy driving. You want sticky tires, you get zero tread life. BTW, I grew up in Indiana too. Spent many days on Lake Shaffer and Freeman. My wife and I actually rented a house on Lake Freeman when we were newly weds and we both graduated from Purdue. Small world Replies to this message: motorcity6 (Dec 01, 2008 11:18 am) lemko (Dec 01, 2008 1:54 pm) bpizzuti (Dec 02, 2008 8:59 am)
#6595 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [motorcity6] by andres3 Nov 25, 2008 (10:38 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Nov 25, 2008 9:15 am) paying only $14.85/hr in their new assembly plant..churring out little metal cans called "Civics"..However the wage will elevate to almost $18.00/hr in 2009..Call the UAW folks and see if those Hoosiers would go for $36.00/hr+awesome benefits..Do people really work for a foreign company for such low wages????That's evil!!! I think American's willing to work for a DECENT $14.85/hour are commendable and I'm sure that is far preferred to NOT WORKING AT ALL or becomming equivalent to a begger on the street asking the GOV't to pay their way!!!!!! I know I'd prefer to work for $14.85 an hour before you'd catch me asking for a handout/bailout/donation/charity/welfare payment. I guess the Big 3 like unemployment as all their workers seemed determined to send the companies in that direction. I hope those Lear Jet Leases were worth the millions spent on them. I'm sure the Average Joe appreciates their retirement fizzling into half while the Big 3 CEO's begging in DC spend more than half that retirement account in one day. Replies to this message: nvbanker (Nov 26, 2008 10:56 am) gagrice (Nov 26, 2008 12:46 pm) steve_ (Nov 26, 2008 12:52 pm) and 2 more...
#6596 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [motorcity6] by bumpy Nov 25, 2008 (11:21 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Nov 25, 2008 9:15 am) Honda is running a "sweat shop" in Greensburg, Indiana, paying only $14.85/hr in their new assembly plant $30,000 a year to start is pretty damn good for someone just walking in off the street with no previous experience. Hell, those impoverished Indianans could buy a new Civic on that kind of moolah. Replies to this message: andre1969 (Nov 25, 2008 11:43 am) lemko (Nov 25, 2008 1:22 pm) dieselone (Nov 25, 2008 1:50 pm)
#6597 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [bumpy] by andre1969 Nov 25, 2008 (11:43 am)
Replying to: bumpy (Nov 25, 2008 11:21 am) $30,000 a year to start is pretty damn good for someone just walking in off the street with no previous experience. Hell, those impoverished Indianans could buy a new Civic on that kind of moolah. I imagine that housing is also much more affordable in that area than in many parts of the country. I looked on Realtor.com, and it looks like for maybe $100K, you could get a halfway decent house out there. Not a starter castle or anything like that, but not a shotgun shack, either. I don't know anything about the economic standing of that area, but heck, $14.85 an hour could be a Godsend, if it's an otherwise impoverished area. Replies to this message: lemko (Nov 25, 2008 1:22 pm) dieselone (Nov 25, 2008 1:50 pm)
#6598 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [andre1969] by lemko Nov 25, 2008 (1:22 pm)
Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 25, 2008 11:43 am) $30,000 a year in Philly ain't gonna cut it unless you have a decent second job or a wealthy spouse or sugar daddy/mommy. You will most likely live in a 1-bedroom apartment in a marginal neighborhood where the rent alone will consume 45% to 50% of your income. You will also need a bus schedule, a nearby Sav-A-Lot grocery store and a decent handgun. A good used Smith & Wesson Model 10 can be had for around $225. Replies to this message: dieselone (Nov 25, 2008 1:50 pm)
#6599 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [lemko] by dieselone Nov 25, 2008 (1:50 pm)
Replying to: lemko (Nov 25, 2008 1:22 pm) I'm originally from Indiana, and have lived in many small and large towns through out the midwest from Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas and now illinois. I'd say $14-15/hr is an average wage for these areas. Cost of living is nothing like Chicago or what Lemko describes in Philly. $150k buys a respectable home, and many started houses can easily be had for $100k. We moved from Wichita, Ks a year and a 1 1/2 ago and it was pretty much the same way. Most of the aircraft blue collar jobs where in the $12-$16/hr range. Housing was inexpensive. We sold our 3 year old ranch with 3,000 finished sq/ft 5 bedrooms, safe/tornado room, custom landscaping, sprinkler system, 3 car garage, in a subdivision with a 18 hole golf course for just under $200k. You could get a new house in a new development for under $130k. Nothing like what I was looking at on the north side of Chicago, where we almost to. $350k got you a 30 year old tri-level that still had 70's paneling. That's insane. I'm sure prices have probably dropped a bit since then though.
#6601 of 7263 o/t by dieselone Nov 25, 2008 (7:36 pm)
I wonder how many hours of o/t are available for these $14-16/hr jobs? Obviously things are slow now, but when the economy was good, everyone I knew that punched a clock was getting all the o/t they wanted.
#6602 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [motorcity6] by oldcem Nov 25, 2008 (8:13 pm)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Nov 25, 2008 9:15 am) Thanks - I am enjoying the Saturn. So far it's been a gem. Enjoy your new ride and don't get too many speeding tickets. I miss the old cars as well. I bought a 1937 Dodge Coupe when I was 14, and, started restoring her. Drove the old Dodge through high school and kept it through my first year of college. Found a girl who liked riding around in the stately old Dodge as much as I did. Sold the car about 43 years ago, but, still got the girl. Regards: OldCEM
#6603 of 7263 Re: Big Day Coming Up!!!!!!!! [motorcity6] by bpizzuti Nov 26, 2008 (3:02 am)
Replying to: motorcity6 (Nov 25, 2008 9:15 am) I always said Ford was smart...of the big 3, they're the one most likely to make it just fine (you know, there's no recent Ford threads in News and Views?) With gas prices dropping, it's the PERFECT time to bring out a V8 Bullit. If anyone can manage to get the credit to buy one anyway, but I'm sure some will, and that will jack up Ford's sales when they need it most. Of course, if you want carbon emissions, you need an old-school diesel V8 with 20 HP and 500 foot-pounds of torque that runs out of breath at 1000 feet. Oh, and working in that Civic plant probably beats the stuffing out of working for Wal-Mart. But if you want complaining rights, you want Korean iron, since they'll stand by their product for 10 years, something the domestics don't want to do yet. Wish they would, good P/R decision that should boost immediate sales and not cost much to implement initially; the costs are all down the road, but by then they're out of the woods or out of business anyway. Replies to this message: alltorque (Nov 26, 2008 6:44 am) gagrice (Nov 26, 2008 7:12 am) andres3 (Dec 02, 2008 10:54 am) steve_ (Dec 02, 2008 11:16 am) motorcity6 (Dec 02, 2008 3:08 pm) and 62 more...